Most beardsmen know all about beard oils, beard balms, beard washes and beard brushes. But we suspect even the well-groomed bearded gentleman haven’t come across many beard scrubs yet.
We think that’s a darn shame, as the best beard scrubs offer a ton of benefits for your skin and hair.
We’ve been able to try out quite a few face and beard scrubs in recent years, and we think these grooming products can be a great way to exfoliate and clear away scruff.
What is a beard scrub and why should I use it?
A beard scrub is similar to a face scrub. Like face washes and face scrubs, it’s meant to offer a more intensive cleanse and exfoliation compared to a beard wash. That not only means a cleaner beard; it means less dead skin, fewer breakouts of acne and generally healthier beard skin overall.
How do I use beard scrub?
- Start with a wet (but not soaking wet) beard whether that’s in the shower or at your bathroom sink.
- Scoop a small amount of beard scrub into your fingers or palms and spread it.
- Begin massaging the scrub into your skin and beard in a circular motion. We prefer to start at the roots and work top-down to ensure the scrub has a chance to work on the underlying skin.
- Continue to massage and work the scrub throughout your beard until you’re satisfied with the coverage. To avoid over-exfoliating, don’t spend more than a couple of minutes scrubbing.
- Rinse with warm water, pat your face dry and bam, you’ve got a deeply cleansed beard ready for beard oil or a smooth shave.
How often should I use beard scrub?
Because scrubs are generally more intensive and exfoliating than face washes, we don’t recommend using them more than once per week. Many products recommend scrubbing a few times a week or even daily, but that’s going to be too much for most beards and can strip skin of its natural oils. If you must scrub more than once a week, take a rest day in between.
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Now, with the basics out of the way, check out some of the best beard scrubs below. Every one of these products will deliver a rigorous cleansing to maintain your beard or prepare it for shaving.
1. Kiehl’s Facial Fuel Scrub
BEST OVERALL
Part of Kiehl’s popular men’s skin care line, Facial Fuel Scrub is an energizing product that’s worth the high price tag. This is one of the best men’s grooming products we’ve tested so far in 2022, and we love it’s blend of natural ingredients — apricot kernel for exfoliation and menthol and caffeine for renewal. This men’s face scrub was specifically formulated for men with beards, and it’s a great addition to your shower or pre-shave routine. Be warned, the menthol does leave your face tingling, but we found the sensation to be extremely satisfying.
2. Billy Jealousy Scruff Exfoliating Scrub
RUNNER UP
The Billy Jealousy Scruff Exfoliating Scrub is an all-around great beard scrub guaranteed to clarify and cleanse beard hair and underlying skin. Polylactic beads work to exfoliate skin and hair, remove grime and dead skin and prompt healthy skin turnover. At the same time, panthenol, green tea extract, allantoin and other extracts moisturize skin and hair, leaving your beard and skin feeling smoothed and soothed.
Whether you’re trying to get rid of accumulated grime or prepping your beard for a shave, this scrub will take care of business.
3. Proraso Exfoliating Beard Paste and Facial Scrub
CONTENDER
Proraso has been in the beard and shaving game for decades, so you can trust the Proraso Exfoliating Beard Paste and Facial Scrub to do its job. Nutshell powders provide the muscle for exfoliation while shea butter, glycerin and plant oils work to moisturize scruffy hair and itchy skin. Menthol also leaves everything feeling fresh, and limonene and linalool provide a nice touch of fragrance too.
4. Brickell Men’s Renewing Face Scrub
MOISTURIZING SCRUB
Though not labeled as a beard scrub, the Brickell Men’s Renewing Face Scrub will still work great for beardsmen. Pumice, a type of volcanic rock, will exfoliate skin and unclog pores as well as break down excess oil, grime and dead skin. Meanwhile, a bevy of hydrating ingredients, including vitamin E, avocado butter, oils and plant extracts, work to soften and restore hair and skin.
If you’re dealing with beard acne or simply trying to prep your beard for a close shave, Brickell’s scrub won’t let you down.
5. Pacinos Beard & Face Scrub Cleanser
NATURAL INGREDIENTS
The Pacinos Beard & Face Scrub Cleanser is filled with naturally exfoliating and hydrating ingredients to bring your beard and skin back to life. Bamboo, coconut and walnut micro particles break up dead skin and gunk while aloe vera and tea tree moisturize hair and skin.
6. Cantu Shea Butter Cleansing Pre-Shave Scrub
BUDGET PICK
The Cantu Shea Butter Cleansing Pre-Shave Scrub has two things going for it: It prepares beards and face skin for a shave, and it’s cheap as hell. Formulated for men with wavy, curly or coarse hair, this scrub promises to exfoliate skin, tighten pores, minimize ingrown hairs and promote the growth of healthy hair.
7. Stubble and ‘Stache Exfoliate Probiotic Face + Beard Charcoal Scrub
BEST SPLURGE
The Stubble and ‘Stache Exfoliate Probiotic Face + Beard Charcoal Scrub was specifically designed with beardsmen in mind and offers at least one unique ingredient to promote a healthy beard. Unsurprisingly, you can count on the sugar and charcoal to exfoliate hair and skin and soak up impurities. There’s also aloe vera, broccoli seed oil and niacinamide for moisturization and anti-aging purposes. But what you don’t normally see is a probiotic to support your skin’s microbiome, in this case, Lactococcus ferment lysate. Studies suggest this ingredient helps to promote skin hydration, making it a welcome ingredient for a beard scrub.
Updates: This article was last updated on Wednesday, May 4. At that time, we selected a new Best Overall beard scrub, Kiehl’s Facial Fuel Scrub. This product was specifically formulated to soften facial hair pre-shave, and after testing it out for ourselves, we believe it has everything we’re looking for in the best beard scrub — it exfoliates effectively, leaves skin feeling refreshed, contains natural ingredients such as menthol and caffeine, and is paraben and sulfate-free. In addition, we moved up Brickell’s Renewing Face Scrub and named it the best moisturizing beard scrub. We also removed BLK Natural Beard Scrub because it was no longer available.
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